Master Hong's Letter - Level 40 Survey #19 elaboration

[Ayala84]

Hi B&S NA Developer team! 

 

I felt the need to elaborate on my decisions for the survey regarding the question below:

 

"Are the different story characters and locations easy to remember and identify?"

My response was 'Very Difficult'. Here's why...

 

I have noticed that about half of the characters have very odd names that don't have a literal translation into Korean.

As a linguistics buff, I adore seeing real life application of names and meanings in this game. I was very pleased to see that through some of the dialogue, you can see what the original 'true' names of some of the NPCs are, such as Yugan = Yu Yigan and Lady Yehara = Lady Ye Harang. It was thrilling to be able to know their actual names and it gives them a more realistic identity than just the 1 word names that they now have. I would honestly like to see the NPC's properly referred to instantly and visually. Dodan just doesn't stand out to me, and neither does Yehara. Looking at what their real names mean gives you a sense of their personality and not a genericization (something that takes away from depth and uniqueness in my opinion). It is true that, in real life situations, you don't translate someone's name into another language. Guillermo in Spain doesn't get a passport that translates his name to Billy in America. It's rather an insult to genericize a person's name. 

 

I agree that the same is true of NPC's in games as well. I want to respect the characters for who they are, but feel that Yehara for example is just kind of dull in comparison to how grande her full name actually is (in Korean her name is related to artistry, which is actually fitting considering how much pride she takes in her artwork on her beloved fan). Knowing her name's meaning ties her to her fan even more as opposed to just giving her a seemingly obsessive nature about fans.

I'm sure you can understand what I mean. Talking about, Yu Yigan, Yigan has a victorious sort of overtone to it in Korean, but Yugan perverts that meaning and the sense of 'victory' is lost to a generalization (lost in translation?). I honestly don't like it. I would change it myself but I don't have the capability to do so, so in a vague sense of hope, I'm hoping you take this post seriously and consider reverting the characters names in the future to their original Korean counterparts. It could also be educative opportunity for many players interested in getting a comprehensive grasp on Korean language patterns. It'd be a plus to say that Blade and Soul actually has some educational value attached to it, at least in my opinion. 

 

In honesty, it was a partial factor in stalling my immersion into the game. Immersion is good, and I'm sure that others would agree, to a cultural aspect, that cultural immersion in Blade and Soul should be maintained to a higher degree. I like to make characters in games that adhere to the cultural aspect in games (The Elder Scrolls, Star Trek Online, Everquest 2, ect) for the sake of immersion, and I know that I am not alone.

 

Well, it's just my opinion. I hope that you consider this post seriously. If you do, thank you very much, on behalf of others who feel the same way as well.

 

Thanks for bringing this game to NA. It is tons of fun!

[Lunakitty]

And then there's me who don't really even read the names of NPCs and yet if find every NPC easily. \o/

[RyuueLaview]

I really loved your input. I wonder the same thing too. Like how Da Tian became Dochun or how Liu Tien became yuchun (the swordsman npc who shows off). I didnt know that Lady Yehara was actually Ye harang. That's really cool. Im not sure where Jiwan came from but I dont know her name in the mandarin form. Its Biwol/Piworu in kr/jp. 

[kytt]

What an advanced problem!

 

I think most NA and EU players don't know Korean and don't have an issue with knowing or not knowing the origin of NPC names. I'd enjoy that additional information but not sure if enough of the players here would to justify the work.

 

But first, they'd have to consistently translate names to begin with. They didn't even do that. "Ye Harang" actually appears in game. Good luck finding where.

 

Also Yunma Khan is referred to by at least two names in game and, IIRC, Yura has probably three variations. 

 

I figure if they can't even establish a style sheet for translation and check that the language files comply then advanced problems like the art of language translation is leagues beyond this team's interest, let alone ability.